Chief Engineer and Designer Valheim Jonathan Smores is developing an unusual space simulator called Starpath that offers a completely different perspective on space exploration. Instead of traditional space gunplay and sci-fi technology, the game focuses on realistic distances, physics, survival and the feel of real interstellar travel. The project has received nearly 90,000 Steam wishlist additions, but a release date has yet to be announced.
star road It was almost created by Smalls himself in his spare time while working in Valheim. The developers wanted to achieve the feeling of being a real astronaut in deep space, so there won’t be the familiar conventions of such games like artificial gravity, laser guns or space dogfights. The main focus is on the need to build a ship, explore unknown worlds, and independently maintain the starship in working order.
Players must design their own ship, and nearly every element must have a functional purpose. You can create a living space, your own control module, install solar panels, reactors and batteries, outfit it with airlocks for spacewalks, and even build a rotating von Braun ring to create artificial gravity. If the box is damaged, you will have to leave the safe cabin and eliminate the consequences of the accident manually.
The main feature of “Star Road” is the scale of space. The developers promise to exploit the true size and distance between objects to seamlessly travel across the solar system, the Milky Way and beyond. Flight is established taking inertia into account: in order to change trajectory or stop, thrust and fuel consumption must be calculated correctly. Mistakes when plotting a course can cause a spacecraft to drift endlessly through space.
Because of this, an ordinary trip to another planet becomes a solitary test. Players must manage supplies of fuel, energy, oxygen and food, monitor the status of systems and grow food in their own space greenhouse. There are real dangers in outer space: a collision with an asteroid, for example, could damage a ship’s hull and force it to be sent for repair.
At the same time, Star Road doesn’t try to keep players in suspense. Instead, Smalls described the project as a “comfortable” space play. In co-op mode, friends can live together on the ship, tending plants, maintaining systems, playing mini-games on the onboard computer, and simply observing space during long flights. Combat is intentionally not part of the core concept.
To reduce travel time, cryogenic sleep is provided. However, this is not a normal fast travel button: while the character sleeps, the ship continues to fly on its own, so a miscalculated route could lead to a collision or other mishap.
Exploring the universe also includes finding abandoned spacecraft, asteroids and unknown planets. They can be scanned, probes can be sent to obtain samples, and the necessary resources can be obtained. At the same time, abandoned objects are more than just a source of materials: the developers hope to use them to tell small stories about those who have been in space. One of Starpath’s central mysteries is the question of whether alien life exists, and the game deliberately doesn’t reveal a direct answer.
Steam Starpath also announced the launch of single-player, online and regional network co-op modes, and the developer’s plans include full support for modifying and further expanding the game’s functionality. Following this first version, Smores expects to add seamless planetary landings, exploration transport, and deeper simulations of star system motions.
The potential of the project is largely related to the experience of its authors. Smores worked as a lead engineer and designer on Valheim for about five years, working on programming, logic, world design, and game mechanics. Now, he’s transferred the knowledge he gained while making the popular survival game into a completely different environment – instead of Vikings and Scandinavian lands, players will have to go to a place where miscalculating a route can be far more dangerous than any boss.
For now, Star Road remains an ambitious independent project with no release date announced yet. But nearly 90,000 people have already added the game to their wishlists, and its concept sets it apart from most space sims: instead of constant combat, it offers a slow, challenging, and sometimes terrifying, realistic journey through the vast emptiness of space.
